Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze will not be included in Nigeria’s squad for the 2019 FIFA U -20 World Cup in Poland, Completesports.com reports.
Chukwueze, 19, is among the overseas-based players listed for the competition by Flying Eagles head coach Paul Aigbogun , but the player appeared not too keen to feature in Poland.
Instead, he is looking to represent Nigeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt after impressing on his debut in the friendly encounter against the Cranes of Uganda last year.
His Spanish club, Villarreal, have made it known that the former U17 World Cup winner will only be allowed to take part in one of the two competitions.
Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr stated earlier this week that he was still in a dilemma on whether to include the youngster in his AFCON squad or allow him feature at the U-20 World Cup.
Also Read: Richardson Ruled Out Of World Cup2019
Media Officer of the Flying Eagles, Andrew Randa has however put the matter to rest by stating Chukwueze won’t be part of the Flying Eagles squad to the U-20 World Cup which will start later this month in Poland.
“Point of correction. Chukwueze specifically requested to be invited for the U20’s. He wasn’t in the mix originally. I can also confirm to you that he won’t be in Poland. Cheers,” Randa stated in response to a follower on his Twitter handle.
Chukwueze has enjoyed an impressive debut season with Villarreal since breaking into the club’s first team. He has scored eight goals in 37 appearances across all competitions.
By Adeboye Amosu
29 Comments
Very good decision, we are very pleased with that. he deserves to be in the super eagles not u20. Chukweze is among the player when we will struglle in match can come in and help us a lot or deliver. he can also start a match that will depend on the coach we would see he will not disappoint by Gods grace.very good joker for us.
This is how Aigbogun has been exposed I hope he wakes up now that is job is to fish out talents instead of depending on ready made eagles materials
So, it’s settled finally. Although not yet in Rohr’s regular starters’ list, I believe Chukwueze and Osimhen will cause a lot of problems for opposing teams at Afcon if the coach repose more confidence in them. Along with Onuachu, Onyekuru, Kalu and the rest of the guys, this team is loaded!
On a side note, this may be bad news for Kelechi Iheanacho. His chances of making the Afcon squad grows dimmer and dimmer with hints about the sure bankers upfront for the final list. He and Isaac Success seem to be the last in the pecking order currently of all invitees in the last 1 year.
As for Aigbogun, it’s a pity Chukwuee changed his mind about featuring for his team in Poland. But the coach’s management skills didn’t help matters. Sometimes I just wonder how his team are going to fare at the World Cup.
It gives me good feeling that people are writing off the flying eagles but I won’t as history may likely repeat itself. Nigeria never do well when hopes runs high but a fading hope on most Nigerian team does a whole lot of magic performances. Maybe or maybe not this might turn out to be d case of the flying eagles.
Nigeria will do well come Poland 2019, something tells me the flying eagles will Win the World Cup
Wise decision, u need to be climbing up the ladder not climbing down. U have no place in the u20 team, the coach should do his job whilst dishing tribalism and bribery in the bin. Wish u all the best Nwanne m
@Glory
Most people are giving up on Aigbogun,not necessarily the Flying Eagles.Somestimes players can hide a coach flaws and go far,but they can only go that far;(Valverde and Barcelona,point in hand).
Aigbogun has failed at Enyimba,where he was brought from the US with good pay and good players,all support from the board,but was had a disastrous season.
He is doing same right now .
I don’t know; but I think he is respected due to his charm,( he is well spoken,got a good coaching certificate,travels far and wide);rather than his work..
So I think the fans have less confidence on him;and that feeling affects the team.
But the Nigerian spirit is always there.so we still look forward to the tournament with positivity,hopefully,Aigbogun proves the fans wrong ,it can only do us good..
But for now,
Glad Chukwueze made the choice for the super Eagles
Wow, Samuel Chukwueze has added a layer to the level of respect I have for him based on excerpts of the article above.
Speaking on the matter, media officer Andrew Randa said: “Point of correction. Chukwueze specifically requested to be invited for the U20’s. He wasn’t in the mix originally.”
There can only be on logical conclusion to draw from that statement which is that Chukwueze (more than most) knows what is good for him hence he pushed to be included in the Under-20 squad to go to the world cup in order to promote and enhance his football development.
The young man knows the next logical step for him and where he should be in the summer.
However, it now appears that that door is closed to him and he would now have to prove that he deserves a place in the Super Eagles squad that is full of tried-and-tested seasoned, highly experienced and exposed wingers.
IS CHUKWUEZE READY FOR THE BIG TIME?
Kel thinks so! So does Ugo, Mr Hush, Adisboy and host of others.
If these seasoned contributors believe Chukwueze will be an instant hit in Egypt, who am I to argue?
But, if the youngster fails to either get meaningful game-time or make the best use of whatever time he gets in Egypt (if he makes the squad), I will be here waiting…..
Deo, i honestly believe he’s a joker in the pact. I will be suprised if he starts but i believe he will cause some damage when unleashed. I am very happy (as you rightly pointed out) about this development.
People are talking about experience. What is experience? Experience is what you gain in what you do. You can’t be an experienced person without making mistakes.
Therefore, late Keshi drops most of the experienced players in Afcon 2013 for inexperienced team and when the questions were raised against him and he replied. Experience would comes some where.
Now, omo9ja has come again. First, we all have to be honest with ourselves at this point. Chukwueze doesn’t belong in under 20 class.
If I may ask, how old was Messi when he started playing for Barcelona? How about Owen and Ayala? My people and coach Rohr, age is a number. The league and your performance determined some times and it doesn’t at the same time. Super Eagles of 94 as an example.
I’m not a coach but I can help coach Rohr on what to do in this year Afcon.
Mr. Rohr has two players in his team as his joker players. Ighalo and Chukwueze.
When he coach Rohr needs more goals, Chukwueze have to come in with the help of God, Musa, Onyekuru and others, goals will surely come.
Ighalo is really good at holding the ball arises and he knows how to control up front. He should bring him in when Eagles needs to control the game and tactical reasons.
Whether Chukwueze is going to make the final Afcon list or not, he is already an established young player.
Like I said in one of my comments.
NFF, Coach Rohr and Coach’s fans are the biggest problem the Super Eagles.
Ask me how then I will tell you.
NFF haven’t played their role yet.
NFF have to make sure that three cutters of the board members are ex footballers of the team so that they can offer the gaffer their ideas.
Moreso, Coach Rohr should believe in himself. The coach have to build a conference in himself first and then in his team.
Lastly, coach Rohr’s fans have to be sincere about the coach. They should not be carried away because Afcon qualifiers were different to the Afcon tournament itself. By now, they should be able to identify the technicality and the quality of the coach.
The role of the coach as we are heading to this year Afcon. Does he have a player who can score from freekick spot?
Does he have a realiable goalkeeper? Sebastian Ogenna Osigwe is knocking at the door but do we think Oga Rohr will open the for him before it is too late? Can coach do without Mikel?
Who is going to be our main striker?
Do we stand a chance? Yes but how? It’s all depends on coach Rohr because he has the tools but can he use the tools well? That I don’t know.
Chukwueze is a ready made younger superstar who ready to play against any opponent both in Africa and beyond but can Oga Rohr allow the young man to help him? Well, only the coach can answer the question.
I think we should be able to know where we are now. Fingers crossed. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
He’ll be part of the DreamTeam for the final qualifier against Sudan before the AFCON. On merit he should be in the 30 man provisional AFCON squad. Let’s see if he can cement his place in the SuperEagles, he’s got the potential, but I won’t be overtly optimistic since we have other options however, based on his season so far he deserves that chance. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE.
People are talking about experience. What is experience? Experience is what you gain in what you do. You can’t be an experienced person without making mistakes.
Therefore, late Keshi drops most of the experienced players in Afcon 2013 for inexperienced team and when the questions were raised against him and he replied. Experience would comes some where.
Now, omo9ja has come again. First, we all have to be honest with ourselves at this point. Chukwueze doesn’t belong in under 20 class.
If I may ask, how old was Messi when he started playing for Barcelona? How about Owen and Ayala? My people and coach Rohr, age is a number. The league and your performance determined some times and it doesn’t at the same time. Super Eagles of 94 as an example.
I’m not a coach but I can help coach Rohr on what to do in this year Afcon.
Mr. Rohr has two players in his team as his joker players. Ighalo and Chukwueze.
When he coach Rohr needs more goals, Chukwueze have to come in with the help of God, Musa, Onyekuru and others, goals will surely come.
Ighalo is really good at holding the ball when pressure arises and he knows how to control up front. He should bring him in when Eagles needs to control the game and tactical reasons.
Whether Chukwueze is going to make the final Afcon list or not, he is already an established young player.
Like I said in one of my comments.
NFF, Coach Rohr and Coach’s fans are the biggest problem the Super Eagles.
Ask me how then I will tell you.
NFF haven’t played their role yet.
NFF have to make sure that three cutters of the board members are ex footballers of the team so that they can offer the gaffer their ideas.
Moreso, Coach Rohr should believe in himself. The coach have to build a conference in himself first and then in his team.
Lastly, coach Rohr’s fans have to be sincere about the coach. They should not be carried away because Afcon qualifiers were different to the Afcon tournament itself. By now, they should be able to identify the technicality and the quality of the coach.
The role of the coach as we are heading to this year Afcon. Does he have a player who can score from freekick spot?
Does he have a realiable goalkeeper? Sebastian Ogenna Osigwe is knocking at the door but do we think Oga Rohr will open the for him before it is too late? Can coach do without Mikel?
Who is going to be our main striker?
Do we stand a chance? Yes but how? It’s all depends on coach Rohr because he has the tools but can he use the tools well? That I don’t know.
Chukwueze is a ready made younger superstar who ready to play against any opponent both in Africa and beyond but can Oga Rohr allow the young man to help him? Well, only the coach can answer the question.
I think we should be able to know where we are now. Fingers crossed. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
I don’t see any player in the current set up keeping this boy out of the team. in terms of Experience he has grown in leaps and bounds since his debut game against Uganda, might I add he looked our most dangerous player in that game even as inexperienced as he was. Nigeria if we are to be honest with ourselves does not have talent of his and Onyekuru’s caliber, hence the current hype they have in Europe right now. Our current winger’s at present i.e. Moses Simon, Samuel Kalu, Ahmed Musa are already tried and tested (Kalu still needs to prove himself Chukwueze was more dangerous than him against Uganda) and in my opinion don’t have the X factor. Ahmed Musa has one good game and then fades in important games. The game changers we currently have now are Samuel Chukwueze and Henry Onyekuru hence, are carrying their Clubs Villarreal and Galatasaray respectively.
Good decision but will you make the final 23 man cut?
I don’t think so..
Too many options for SE In forward
Iwobi,(if Mike comes back to the team)
Musa,Ighalo, Samuel kalu, Moses Simon, Onyekuru, etc We are not going to Egypt with only attackers o,
Defense is also there that will comprise of Seven to players
Seven to Eight defence*
@Ugo, So in your opinion, Kalu still needs to prove himself because of one friendly match. A player that has scored 1 goal and 2 assits in 5 appearance for Nigeria, winning penalty and multiple free kicks in dangerous positions. A player who replaced Victor Moses and we quickly forgot about Moses because he is an improved version. The only new player i know under Genet Rohr, that did not have to go through friendly match or wait in the bench before he was blooded in a competitive match (Even Onyekuru and Chukwueze inclusive). The player that since his injury, his club has never remained same because they can hardly win a match. When he is fit usually plays 90 mins and has won MOM multiple times and you claim still needs to prove himself.
Thank God coach Rohr thinks differently.
Been thinking the same thing. We all know that under Rohr, Kalu is guaranteed to start if fit. Ppl keep promoting Onyekuru, but the fact is if Kalu is fit the battle would be between Moses and Onyekuru because I think Rohr would pick Chukwueze over those two. In fact, in the team, Kalu is as safe as the captain Musa.
@Ikeben if you really looked at the french League and Bordeux’s playing before Samuel Kalu got injured (a league might I add that is not of the same Caliber as La Liga) he was not really changing games he actually dried up. my point is that Samuel Chukwueze at 19 is showing Way more potential than Smauel Kalu, Chukwueze at 19 out runs and out turns players like Marcello Gerald Pique and Sergio Ramos, SERGIO RAMOS!!!! Are you kidding me. He has now got the attention of Jurgen Klopp. Please bros. if we look at the way Henry Onyekuru carries Galatasaray and his Goals return we will see that Samuel Kalu is not on these two players level. Also we all know how infamous Gernot Rohr is at not spotting talent. We all saw how long it took him to drop Onazi and Mikel Agu and to see that John Ogu is better than the both combined. Maybe Mikel Agu i am judging a bit hard because he is still learning and did well this season before his injury but Onazi and Ogu debate was a clear reminder of Genort rohr’s stubbornness in Picking quality over “So called” tried and tested.
Chukwueze starting depends on the formation Rohr picks. If we play 3-3-4, 3-4-3 or 2-4-4, Chukwueze starts as a winger, me thinks. If we play 2-5-3, then the only place for him in this formation is to play as an AM. He is not a wing back, so that won’t work. He will definitely be bringing something exciting to the mix. I think Rohr will be well advised to try to accomodate this youngster in his formation. I think 3-4-3 is perhaps the way to go…My starting line up –
Ezenwa or Uzoho
Ekong, Omeruo, Balogun
Aina, Ndidi, Ogu or Etebo, Collins
Chukwueze, Onuachu or Ighalo, Kalu or Musa
With this or a similar line up, good things will happen at the Afcon. One thing is certain….we are far more solid defensively with 3 center backs than with just 2. If we get it right defensively, and are not conceding goals, that sets the stage, because we know the guys we have upfront will score. One more thing, we need a paradigm shift, tactics wise. The Nigerian way of playing football is to go for the jugular, attack, attack, attack via the wings until the opponent is subdued. This works against many teams, but against teams that are solid defensively and have swift counter attacking capability, we fall flat. This is why we struggle traditionally against teams like Cameroun (the 1990s team), Ghana, and some of the North African teams like Egypt and Tunisia. With the 3-4-3 or 2-5-3 system, we can sit back and absorb our opponents pressure, and hit them on the counter, if going for the jugular is not working. This tactical flexibility can be the difference maker in tough matches.
Obviously, Iwobi and Onyekuru are also options for the front 3 in a 3-4-3 formation. In a 2-5-3 formation, Iwobi is first choice for the AM role, for now.
Samuel should run far away from Aigbogun team. Clueless Aigbogun is fraud anyway,the with some NFF officials are just looking for players to sale, these guys don’t give a F about winning in Poland.I think he should stay with dream team for now, but the guy is ready for super Eagles.So Rohr over to you.
2-5-3 formation? Or 3-5-2 you mean?
Is it from the front or from the back? Me, I dey do am from the front. 2 forwards, 5 midfielders including 2 wingbacks, and 3 centerbacks. Anyhow, you get the idea 🙂
Typo error, the guy and some Nff officials
Ighalo got substituted in the 12th minutes of their ongoing game against Tianjin Teda.I hope he will be fine for the AFCON
Published: May 10, 2019
Shell-Shocked Man City Midfielder Overhears Flying Eagles Officials Discussing About Bribe; ‘Football Ages’
Allnigeriasoccer.com understands that a player on the books of Premier League champions Manchester City recently overhead Flying Eagles officials discussing about dropping players invited to the training camp who refused to grease the palms of the coaching staff.
The Flying Eagles officials talked freely despite the presence of the midfielder as they didn’t know he understood vernacular perfectly because of his British accent.
The officials were arguing among themselves about the players to drop from the roster for refusing to bribe the coaches, and they called out the names of the players in that category.
Apart from the issue of bribery, on one or two occasions at a team meal in the evening, the foreign-born players were shell-shocked over the fact that the Flying Eagles coaches freely joked about the Nigerian-born players’ ages.
Some of the Nigerian-born players admitted that they were playing with their ‘football ages’, the foreign-born players were surprised this could happen in 2019 and they should not celebrate if they win the World Cup in Poland.
The Nigerian-born players kept asking the foreign-born ones if the ages stated on their passports were their real ages which amused them
Here we go again. All the english based players invited for the u20 have left the flying eagles camp and return back to england. That was the same reason we lost Alaba to Austra
@ugwudede,inasmuch as i dont like the unseriousness of aigbogun in his camp handling ethics…dont read much into any story from that notorious bribe seeking-blackmailing reporter called ifeanyi Emmanuel from allnigeriasoccer.com his works are nothing but sensationalism at its best!
He’s not as professional as Kenneth Ezaga(zeegee) of the defunct africaplays or our much revered mumini Alao
@oakfield bribery i can’t defend but pls aigbogun’s selection is everything but tribalism,as there are even none from his own home state judging from names in camp
Well said from all of u guys and a wise decision from Chukwueze. well for me the super eagles team is good but his addition will be making the team to be a more attacking treat. I am very happy cus almost all our wingers did well in this season,for me I prefer Chukwueze to kalu but they are both good wingers. My expected wingers (Musa & Henry on the left wing) (Chukwueze, Kalu and Iwobi if not playing as AM).
and nice selection from pompei. I think we don’t need more than 2 best formation for this Afcon,1 of this formations is 4-4-2 cos for u to play this formation u need good wingers and good strikers which we have(this is my own idea cos am not the coach)
Kudos to my dear forumites bcos of d atmosphere here, where we all are stating our points without using abusive words cos we all stated reasonable ideas. kudos to u all once again, May God bless us all and make the winner o this AFcon.
I pray all our players are injury free b4 the tournament. Amen (ire o. God bless Nigeria!! by omo9ja)